Google executive Eric Schmidt has said his company will support HTC in its legal battle with Apple, and accused the company -- where he was once a board member -- for "responding with lawsuits" rather than innovating.

Schmidt's comments came during a speech given Tuesday at the Google Mobile Revolution conference in Tokyo, Japan. The former CEO and current executive chairman said his company will "make sure" that HTC doesn't lose its patent infringement suit with Apple, according to ZDNet Asia.

He then went on to criticize Apple's decision to sue competitors, though he didn't name the Cupertino, Calif., company by name. Schmidt was previously a member of Apple's board of directors, but left in August 2009 due to growing competition between the iPhone and devices running Android.

"We have seen an explosion of Android devices entering the market and, because of our successes, competitors are responding with lawsuits as they cannot respond through innovations," Schmidt reportedly said. "I'm not too worried about this."

Schmidt's comments echo those made a week ago by a spokesperson for HTC, who said officials at the company are "disappointed" that Apple is suing competitors "instead of competing fairly in the market." That came in response to a new patent complaint just filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission by Apple against HTC.

Only days after Apple lodged its latest complaint, the ITC ruled in favor of Apple in a separate lawsuit. An initial ruling from an ITC judge found that HTC's handsets illegally violate two patented inventions owned by Apple. The judge's findings are subject to review by the full commission.

Speaking Tuesday, Schmidt remained confident that HTC would be able to overturn the ITC decision. He reportedly said that Google will support HTC in the ongoing legal battle, but declined to offer further details.

Schmidt jokingly characterized disputes with Apple and other companies as "legal fun." But those lawsuits have had real consequences for companies like HTC, which is already involved in a costly licensing agreement with Microsoft.

Microsoft is believed to collect about $5 per unit for every Android device that HTC sells. It's a deal so lucrative that it's caused some pundits to speculate that Microsoft earns more from Android than it does off its own Windows Phone 7 platform.

And with its initial victory over HTC, Apple may also carve out a piece of the Android pie, as at least one analyst believes Apple could set a high royalty precedent with a definitive victory over the Taiwanese handset maker. That could pave the way for Apple to collect revenue from other, larger Android device makers like Motorola and Samsung.

Even smaller vendors are said to be concerned over legal threats to Android. One report from earlier Tuesday suggested that some Chinese device makers like Huawei and ZTE could shift toward Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform and away from Android.

Funny, because it was Apple that came up with the iPhone and iOS first. Because it was such a success, everyone else began to copy it. Sure, they try to put their own twist to it, but using someone else's patented technology and adding to it is still stealing. I know it happens all over the technology industry and Apple is probably not free from guilt either in some cases, but don't say that Apple would rather sue than innovate when it is GOOGLE who is the one stealing and NOT coming up with the ORIGINAL INNOVATION in the first place!

In my book what he did behind Apples back while serving on the board of directors is tantamount to corporate espionage. He's a weasel of the nth degree.

Apple put four years of hard and original work into making a totally new device, which everyone has since copied. They are totally justified in trying to protect that investment at this early stage in the game. Saying that now that we've copied you, you should innovate your way out of it and not sue us is a ridiculous argument.

I remember well the original unveiling of the iPhone and Steve saying something towards the end about 200+ patents that they had around it, '... and we will protect it'. (Or to that effect). So they are following through. As they should.

I love how the universal response to these lawsuits has become "Apple would rather litigate than innovate". Sounds like something from John Cochran's mouth. A digestible soundbite that if repeated enough might be true in the minds of the thoughtless. The irony of this statement is unmatched in this century I believe. Thanks for the laugh Schmidt!

turtles all the way up and turtles all the way down... infinite context means infinite possibility

Google executive Eric Schmidt has said his company will support HTC in its legal battle with Apple, and accused the company -- where he was once a board member -- for "responding with lawsuits" rather than innovating....

Okay, it's official. Schmidt will say absolutely *anything* if it advances his agenda. He was on Apple's BOD for cripes sake, he knows this is a misrepresentation at best.

I love how the universal response to these lawsuits has become "Apple would rather litigate than innovate". Sounds like something from John Cochran's mouth. A digestible soundbite that if repeated enough might be true in the minds of the thoughtless. The irony of this statement is unmatched in this century I believe. Thanks for the laugh Schmidt!

And what Cochran proved conclusively is that if you repeat that catchy phrase over and over again, people will always come to believe it's true.

It's very shrewd really, even if it's morally bankrupt at the same time.

Google executive Eric Schmidt has said his company will support HTC in its legal battle with Apple, and accused the company -- where he was once a board member -- for "responding with lawsuits" rather than innovating.

When your only selling point is that your product is free, and the reason it is free is wholesale IP theft, then you are really better off not complaining about lack of innovation from the people you are stealing from.

I can accept the "Apple should not litigate" arguments (though I don't completely agree with them) as being a genuine argument. But to tack on the "rather than innovate" part, when speaking about Apple, which created the industry you are talking about defies belief.

And why not this is the beginning of the end for Android. First their hopes were dashed when Nokia turned to Microsoft. Then their asses got kicked in the Nortel bidding war which was won by Apple consortium. And now he's really getting nervous with the way things are going for HTC and Samsung while Motorola is secretly crafting their own mobile OS.

550K Android activations a day means $2.75M a day for the sitting pretty Microsoft. Now isn't he who is jealous?

But it's true; I'm sure there are a bazillion fandroids out there right now repeating the phrase as we speak without thinking it through themselves. You only need a majority of the idiots to support your cause. I'd make a Nazi analogy, but I don't think we're ready to enact Godwin's law yet.

turtles all the way up and turtles all the way down... infinite context means infinite possibility

Google executive Eric Schmidt has said his company will support HTC in its legal battle with Apple, and accused the company -- where he was once a board member -- for "responding with lawsuits" rather than innovating.

Schmidt left out one key word in his statement. "Apple "responding with Lawsuits rather than GOOGLE innovating"

I love how the universal response to these lawsuits has become "Apple would rather litigate than innovate". Sounds like something from John Cochran's mouth. A digestible soundbite that if repeated enough might be true in the minds of the thoughtless. The irony of this statement is unmatched in this century I believe. Thanks for the laugh Schmidt!

So true! Schmidt is copying the Conservative politicians most successful tactic of the last decade; if you repeat the same lies enough, most people will believe it. Think; "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and lately "Don't tax the job creators".

So if they keep repeating the message; "Apple doesn't innovate" and millions of people will start repeating it and it will become a "truth".

Google executive Eric Schmidt has said his company will support HTC in its legal battle with Apple,

No one has mentioned - why didn't Google support HTC way back at the beginning? If they had any integrity, they would have been involved in defending HTC (and the others) from the start - not after Apple already won.

"I'm way over my head when it comes to technical issues like this"Gatorguy 5/31/13

But it's true; I'm sure there are a bazillion fandroids out there right now repeating the phrase as we speak without thinking it through themselves. You only need a majority of the idiots to support your cause. I'd make a Nazi analogy, but I don't think we're ready to enact Godwin's law yet.

They will say Apple want to destroy Android.. Apple's scared of Android.. blah blab. And they call us fanboys.

Basically Google purchased startup Android in 2005. In 2006 Schmidt joined the Apple Board of Directors and was thus, very privy to the development and launch of the iPhone in 2007. At the same time, Google was furthering development of Android. After iPhone launched out of secrecy in 2007, Google launched Android, but now instead of having the Blackberry copying look-and-feel, it became a replica of the iPhone. They continued to work on Android, copying many of iPhone core features.

Finally in 2009, Schmidt "resigned" the board of directors, but Steve Jobs was very upset at the fact that Google decided to enter their market when they never thought twice about entering the search market.

So what Schmidt did was betray trust and non-disclosures in creating Android by copying Apple's years of research in the field.